Bozeman Landmark Gets Facelift
9/28/2001 12:00:00 AM | Football
in part to the Montana State footballteam.
On Friday morning, Sept. 28, Bobcatfootball players that don't have academicobligations joined other MSU studentsand alums, and other interested parties, inhelping to restore the large block-letter‘M' constructed 86 years ago on the sideof Mt. Baldy on the northeast edge ofBozeman.
Members of the University's fraternities and sororities, along with MSU organizations such as
the Spurs and Fangs, participated. The project is being coordinated by Torlief Aasheim, a
1937 graduate of Montana State.
I remember distinctly the days when (the school's freshmen) carried 50 pound sacks of lime
and 10 gallon cans of water up the hill, Aasheim recalls of the college's annual M Day.
There must have been about 500 of us freshmen on the job, with Spurs and Fangs in
supervision. The ‘M' shows signs of neglect these days. It's our obligation to restore that great
symbol of this University and this community.
The notion for the ‘M' came about in the fall of 1915, when members of the Class of ‘18 were
considering a monument to the school and to the enduring loyalty of their class. After a
committee of five class members laid the outline of the letter, the sophomore class was granted
a holiday from school and 60 members made the trip to the hill on bicycles, buggies and
automobiles, according to the 1918 Montanan Yearbook. By the afternoon, with large rocks
and other easily-attained materials to fill the ‘M' exhausted, the class formed a line from the
outer reaches of the hill and handed rocks to the letter's interior. On May 8, 1916, the class
again convened on the side of Mt. Baldy, finishing the project by filling in holes and
whitewashing the structure.
This was a wonderful project for our team to involve itself in because of the importance that
‘M' has always had to people who love this University, said MSU football coach Mike
Kramer. Torlief has done a great job coordinating this, and I'm proud that our players will
play a small role in helping restore the ‘M'.
MSU football players and many other University students will spent Friday morning on the
mountainside, stabilizing the boundary of the ‘M', enhancing and rehabilitating the trails leading
up the hill, and beginning construction on a parking lot. Members of the Bobcat football team
worked from 8 am until 12 noon. The team hosts Cal State Northridge in a football game at
Bobcat Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Aasheim has raised nearly $100,000 toward the restoration project, and contributions are still
being accepted. Checks should be made payable to the MSU Foundation, and can be sent tothat organization at PO Box 172750, Bozeman, MT 59717. Questions can be directed toAasheim at 406/587-7256, or Rick Jackson at the MSU Foundation, 406/994-4882.
The 1918 Montanan paid ode to the effort of its class members: May the ‘M''stand long as asymbol of our loyalty to Montana State and a reminder of what a united class can accomplish.If Torlief Aasheim and many current MSU students have their way, it certainly will.
On Friday morning, Sept. 28, Bobcatfootball players that don't have academicobligations joined other MSU studentsand alums, and other interested parties, inhelping to restore the large block-letter‘M' constructed 86 years ago on the sideof Mt. Baldy on the northeast edge ofBozeman.
Members of the University's fraternities and sororities, along with MSU organizations such as
the Spurs and Fangs, participated. The project is being coordinated by Torlief Aasheim, a
1937 graduate of Montana State.
I remember distinctly the days when (the school's freshmen) carried 50 pound sacks of lime
and 10 gallon cans of water up the hill, Aasheim recalls of the college's annual M Day.
There must have been about 500 of us freshmen on the job, with Spurs and Fangs in
supervision. The ‘M' shows signs of neglect these days. It's our obligation to restore that great
symbol of this University and this community.
The notion for the ‘M' came about in the fall of 1915, when members of the Class of ‘18 were
considering a monument to the school and to the enduring loyalty of their class. After a
committee of five class members laid the outline of the letter, the sophomore class was granted
a holiday from school and 60 members made the trip to the hill on bicycles, buggies and
automobiles, according to the 1918 Montanan Yearbook. By the afternoon, with large rocks
and other easily-attained materials to fill the ‘M' exhausted, the class formed a line from the
outer reaches of the hill and handed rocks to the letter's interior. On May 8, 1916, the class
again convened on the side of Mt. Baldy, finishing the project by filling in holes and
whitewashing the structure.
This was a wonderful project for our team to involve itself in because of the importance that
‘M' has always had to people who love this University, said MSU football coach Mike
Kramer. Torlief has done a great job coordinating this, and I'm proud that our players will
play a small role in helping restore the ‘M'.
MSU football players and many other University students will spent Friday morning on the
mountainside, stabilizing the boundary of the ‘M', enhancing and rehabilitating the trails leading
up the hill, and beginning construction on a parking lot. Members of the Bobcat football team
worked from 8 am until 12 noon. The team hosts Cal State Northridge in a football game at
Bobcat Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Aasheim has raised nearly $100,000 toward the restoration project, and contributions are still
being accepted. Checks should be made payable to the MSU Foundation, and can be sent tothat organization at PO Box 172750, Bozeman, MT 59717. Questions can be directed toAasheim at 406/587-7256, or Rick Jackson at the MSU Foundation, 406/994-4882.
The 1918 Montanan paid ode to the effort of its class members: May the ‘M''stand long as asymbol of our loyalty to Montana State and a reminder of what a united class can accomplish.If Torlief Aasheim and many current MSU students have their way, it certainly will.
Wednesday, June 10
Friday, March 27
Monday, March 23
Friday, March 13
